A view of Brooklyn Point under construction within the City Point complex in Downtown Brooklyn. At a height of 720 ft (220 m), it has been the tallest building in the borough since topping out in April 2019. It is also currently the tallest building on Long Island.

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Franklin Trust Company Building is considered Brooklyn's first skyscraper

The construction of high-rise buildings in Brooklyn began during the late 19th century, following the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 and the building of elevated railroads and streetcar lines during the late 1880s.[6][7] Increased accessibility to Downtown Brooklyn brought greater economic growth and propagated denser commercial development, which increased the heights of downtown buildings throughout the 1890s.[6] This led to the 1891 construction of Brooklyn's first skyscraper, the 10-story Franklin Trust Company Building.[8] By 1901, the 13-story Temple Bar Building was completed and was the borough's first steel-beam high-rise, its largest office building, and its tallest at 164 feet (50 m).[9][10] In the early 20th-century, the opening of multiple New York City Subway lines in Downtown Brooklyn spurred further development of tall commercial buildings.[6][11] The Zoning Resolution of 1916, which required buildings to incorporate setbacks from the street to allow for sunlight, influenced the construction of taller, more slender buildings.[12][13]

In 1918, the 22-story and 220-foot (67 m) building at 32 Court Street was completed and regarded as Brooklyn's first "true skyscraper", and thus initiated a skyscraper building boom in Brooklyn centered on Court and Montague Streets.[6][14][15] Brooklyn's high-rise development continued unabated into the 1920s.[16] The Court and Remsen Building, built in 1926 at 350 feet (107 m) in height, was the first of the major high-rises to be built in Brooklyn during the 1920s and briefly held the title of Brooklyn's tallest building until 1927, when the Montague–Court Building was completed and became Brooklyn's tallest building at 462 feet (141 m).[12][17] Brooklyn's skyscraper building boom ceased during the Great Depression, and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower in Fort Greene, which was completed in 1929,[5] remained Brooklyn's tallest building until 2009.[3]

In 2004, several portions of Downtown Brooklyn were rezoned to promote more commercial, residential, and retail development.[18][19] This rezoning allowed for greater density of development, and combined with an increased demand for housing, these areas experienced a boom in the construction of tall buildings.[18][20][21] In addition to Downtown Brooklyn, high-rise buildings are also concentrated in the Fort Greene and Williamsburgneighborhoods, although other Brooklyn neighborhoods have significant numbers of high-rises.[1]

There are over 50 completed or topped out skyscrapers in Brooklyn that stand at least 295 feet (90 m) tall, based on standard height measurement which includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts.[1] An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. An asterisk (*) indicates that the building is still under construction, but has been topped out. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

The final phase of Extell's City Point development; topped out in April of 2019, it is now the tallest building in Brooklyn.[22] Also known as 138 Willoughby Street,[23][24] 1 City Point,[25] and City Point Tower III.[25][26]

There are a number of buildings under construction in Brooklyn that are expected to rise at least 295 feet (90 m) in height.[1]9 DeKalb Avenue, which has started initial construction work relating to foundation preparation, is set to rise over 1,000 feet. If completed, the tower will become the tallest building in the NYC area outside of Manhattan, and the tallest building on Long Island.[126]